SINGAPORE: The most recent Salary Guide report from Morgan McKinley, a worldwide professional services recruitment consultancy, shows that the majority of companies in Singapore found hiring to be competitive over the past year, and many are preparing better salary packages for the coming year.
The report shows that 72 per cent of employers plan on increasing salary offers in 2024 for specific roles that are hard to fill. On the part of the employees who took part in the study, 60 per cent said they’re optimistic that they’ll receive an increase in 2024.
A considerable 80 per cent of employers in Singapore who participated in the study characterized hiring as “very” or “quite” competitive last year. They said that the following were the top reasons: lack of skilled candidates available, no budget to hire, no sign-off for new headcount, employer branding not attractive, and pay and benefits not competitive enough.
”Despite a significant slowdown in hiring from the post-pandemic highs in Singapore, recruitment for top talent is still happening – but it has been difficult. Apprehension from jobseekers, the widening skills shortage due to international talent leaving the region, and increased hiring process length deterring candidates each played a role in this,” said Mr Gurj Sandhu, the Managing Director of Morgan McKinley Singapore.
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Mr Sandhu warned, “Only time will tell whether we see a surge of movement in 2024, like the ‘Great Resignation’ of 2021. However, if employees are not taken care of now, they will let this be known with their feet.”
The study also shows that Almost two-fifths of employers said that in the past six months, they’ve lost out on hiring new talent because they could not offer competitive salaries and benefits. Also, 44 per cent said that they expected a ‘lack of skilled candidates available’ would be the biggest recruitment challenge for 2024.
On the other hand, on the part of the employees, nearly two-thirds reported not being very happy with their salaries. Sixty-three per cent said they were either ‘neutral’, ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘highly dissatisfied’ with their pay and benefit packages.
“Offering strong benefits, both financial and non-financial, increases your chance of attracting and retaining top talent,” the study noted, adding that employees’ top five wants are: Top 5 most desired benefits: Bonus, Work from home, Flexible working hours: Flexi-start, flexi-finish, Health and wellbeing benefits and support and Health insurance.
Four out of ten employees, on the other hand, are planning to actively look for new jobs in the next six months, with 43% citing ‘higher salary’ as the most valued reason for wanting to move jobs, followed by ‘career growth and development opportunities’ at 14%. 60% of employees are optimistic about receiving a salary increase in 2024, with 72% of employers planning to increase salary offers in 2024 for certain in-demand roles.
Other benefits employees in Singapore are seeking include bonuses, the ability to work from home, flexible working hours, health and wellbeing support, as well as health insurance.
/TISG
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